BROKEN BONES: Anthropological Analysis of Blunt Force Trauma (2nd Ed.)The editors, along with 15 outstanding contributors, comprehensively explore and provide an overview of the principles behind the interpretation of skeletal blunt force trauma. This expanded second edition provides a discussion on how to train for a career in forensic anthropology and offers guidance on how to complete a thorough trauma analysis. It also provides the labels given to different kinds of fractures and the biomechanical forces required to cause bone to fail and fracture. The text provides a theoretical framework for both evaluating published trauma studies and designing new ones. Experimental trauma research is an area ripe for research, and criteria to consider in choosing which non-human species to use in an actualistic study are offered. Common circumstances in which blunt force trauma is encountered are described. Information is provided on a variety of causes of death due to blunt force trauma. These causes range from accidental deaths to homicides due to blunt force from motor vehicle accidents, falls, strangulation, child and elder abuse, among others. Epidemiological information on whom is most likely affected by these various kinds of blunt force trauma is drawn from both the clinical and forensic literature. The most fundamental elements of the text are offered in four chapters where, bone by bone, fracture by fracture, the authors describe what to call each kind of fracture, what is known about how much force is required to break the bone that way, and fracture specific epidemiological information. This particular section of the text provides an invaluable reference source for forensic anthropologists and other osteologists to consult when looking at and trying to classify a bone fracture. Case studies are included to bring the book full circle back to considering the micro and macro bone changes that are seen when bone fails and fractures. The case studies are illustrative both of the concepts described through the book and of the high quality analyses forensic anthropologists contribute to medicolegal investigations of death every day. The text is further enhanced by 150 illustrations, some in color. This completely updated and expanded new volume is an essential reference for the forensic anthropology professional. |
From inside the book
Results 6-10 of 49
... muscles contract because of the heat and the bone tissue is exposed and burns. The outer surface of the skull will exfoliate and fractures may appear in the vault, often caused by falling debris within the fire scene. Because fire ...
... muscle contracture during the fire, pre-existing fractures will allow limbs to “scissor” or significantly displace around the fracture, while limb orientations are more normal when the breaks have occurred after the fire. In many cases ...
... muscles or muscle groups (Salter and Harris 1963). Both are identified by the presence of a cartilagenous growth plate interspersed between the diaphysis and the epiphysis. Both are subject to injury. The growth plates themselves are ...
... by the tension produced by the attached ligaments or tendons (Rogers 1992). Extremely tight bonds occur between the Sharpey's fibers (small, anchoring spicules of muscle at attachment sites) and 69 Classification of Fractures.
... muscle at attachment sites) and the muscles or ligaments or tendons with which they attach to bone. These bonds preclude rupture at the insertion point, and the nearest weak link is often the surrounding bone itself. These fractures are ...
Contents
Section III B | 327 |
Section III C | 336 |
Section III D | 350 |
Section III E | 362 |
Section III F | 369 |
Section III G | 379 |
Section III H | 391 |
Section III I | 399 |